[Cardie]

Lowdown: Peter, a somewhat dorky human who has mastered travel through the Route of Ages, comes from the past to harvest Beka's DNA so that she can become the "Alpha Matriarch" of the new Nietzschean race he'll be going back 16 generations to create. But Dylan whups his behind, insuring that the Niets will (apparently) carry a genetic memory of defeat at the hands of our hero, thus becoming from the start a race of "genetically enhanced losers."

Lil's prediction that Engels would use this episode to complete his destruction of the Nietzscheans was right on the money, as the above clearly demonstrates. Moreover, the casting of the very pale Lochlyn Munro as Drago Museveni is totally inexcusable, inasmuch as the same episode contains a line to the effect that Tyr's son Tamerlane is Drago's genetic reincarnation, so they didn't just forget. Now, it was pretty clear to me that "Peter" was really Paul Museveni, and thus he could have used a lot of different DNA to engineer his son Drago, including some from many human races. I wasn't quite sure why he stayed around playing pranks after getting Beka's DNA, unless it was to prove that the only thing the Niets ever had going for them was Beka Valentine's survival skills. It certainly established that on the paternal side, they were very annoying geeks. Munro's performance reminded me of Finnigan in TOS "Shore Leave." It was obscurely hinted at that Peter also wanted to get Dylan's DNA for his Niet stew, and that the reason they turned out to be losers was that they weren't his descendants. For once I could follow most of Engels' dialogue, but I sure didn't like what it was saying.

Actually the idea of Beka being "the one" because she is the Andromeda universe's version of B5's Sinclair would be pretty neat if the plot had been used in a value-neutral way and not to trash the origins of the Nietzschean race. Heck, I'm no fan of the Niets and this episode enraged me. Beka was disrespected almost as much as Peter, her only redeeming feature, according to Captain Terrific, being that she chose to ally herself with him.

As only very slight consolation, Lexa is back with significant dialogue as ship and holo-Rommies, and she has some good interplay with Doyle as they battle over their shared Andromedaness. And the ship does finally achieve full power at episode's end.

I have some other gripes I'll bring up as I read other reviews, but for now I need to post this and recommence stewing.

Cardie

[Anastashia]

Thanks Cardie

[Bad Wolf]

Quote

Lil's prediction that Engels would use this episode to complete his destruction of the Nietzscheans was right on the money

I HATE that I'm right. But it's Bob Engels and he's never understood the Nietzscheans. I'm glad I don't watch any more (tonight being no exception) and I'll chalk this one up with everything else following Tunnel at the End of the Light: It wasn't Tyr, it's not real, it never was supposed to happen that way, and the show has long been over.

Lil

[Atavus]

With the ship now back to full power (that plot point can be dropped thanks to Lexa's return no doubt) hopefully that means Harper will get around to rebuilding Rommie.

Otherwise, the episode does sound quite worrying.

[Josh]

Just that synopsis has me extremely confused which leads me to believe that the real episode is probably much much worse. Bravo, Bob Engels. You live up to your reputation.

I'm particularly insulted by the thought of Dylan not only saving the day but warping the ideals of an entire race.

[Redshirt #24]

First they deconstructed the Vedrans, and now they've deconstructed the Nietzscheans. I'm probably preaching to the choir, but it certainly seems like the current writing staff is/was hellbent on severing most if not all ties to about pre-mid-S3 Andromeda for whatever reason...

[Bad Wolf]

Josh, on Jan 21 2005, 04:51 PM, said:

I'm particularly insulted by the thought of Dylan not only saving the day but warping the ideals of an entire race.

It's all about him though and I guess that someone decided that the mere memory of Tyr was too much of a threat and decided to complete the botch job. Egads I need to stop giving this gorramed show this much ability to piss me off. It's like a frelling addiction or something.
:pout:

[Cardie]

^^But the whole Tyr pretending to be the reincarnated Progenitor plot was written at the end of S3 on Bob Engels' watch. Has he been visiting the Lost island and developed convenient amnesia?!?

Cardie

[Josh]

I'm just sickened by it. The show doesn't affect me as much as it disgusts me. Sure, there have been genre shows that have gotten worse near the end (Buffy, Babylon 5, etc.) but I haven't seen one that has made me want to turn off the television five seconds in.

Of course, Andromeda has very little excuse as it went bad halfway through the second season. It should have had plenty of life left in it.

[Bad Wolf]

It was written by ASH AND ZACK during S3 and it's very obvious that there were two different seasons that year: Seven episodes clearly written by folk who understood and were attempting to do some honor to the original show, and then the rest.

Bob Engels gets no credit for that. None, zero, zilch. I don't believe for a minute that he even wrote the S3 ender. There's no way in hell he understands Dylan/Tyr from S1 and early S2 that well. No way in hell.

Lil

[DWF]

I won't be seeing this til tomorrow morning but I do have to ask, which universe's Drago is it, is it the old Andromeda universe of seasons 1-4 or is it Drago of this season's universe?

[Redshirt #24]

^ Definitely the Seefra variety. This guy had very little in the way of redeeming qualities, even on a superficial level. (Which probably explains why Beka was getting her freak on with him.)

[Rayhana]

Some of this ep made sense and some didn't, which is par for the course with Engles as far as I'm concerned. I really didn't have a problem with Drago stealing the Vedran technology and traveling through space and time to find the perfect woman to be the mother of his race and I don't have a problem with it being Beka.

[Jazzer]

I was expecting some typical Engels nonsense, but this was much worse than I expected. My brain is still shuddering over this episode. Engels just warped, ripped, & shredded any continuity in this one. Engelise confetti, anyone?

This post has been edited by Jazzergold: 21 January 2005 - 09:05 PM

[Cardie]

Una Salus Lillius, on Jan 21 2005, 07:58 PM, said:

It was written by ASH AND ZACK during S3 and it's very obvious that there were two different seasons that year:  Seven episodes clearly written by folk who understood and were attempting to do some honor to the original show, and then the rest.

Bob Engels gets no credit for that.  None, zero, zilch.  I don't believe for a minute that he even wrote the S3 ender.  There's no way in hell he understands Dylan/Tyr from S1 and early S2 that well.  No way in hell.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I wasn't giving him any credit, but I was imagining that as the head writer at that time he would at least have read the scripts and seen the finished episodes, ergo he should frelling well remember what happened and not completely screw it up 18 months later.

Cardie

[Jazzer]

Another thought: if you'll pardon my putting this somewhat crudely... so Beka screwed at least of her own descendants? while Engels screwed the Andromeda fans.

[Appreciate]

(((((((((((((((Cardie)))))))))))))))

(((((((((((((((Lilius))))))))))))))))

-Kath

[psycaz]

A question I can't understand (the only one I can stand to type right now).
Paul says in so many words that he is from 16 generations from Dylans past .
Now looking at All Systems, it was in 8402 Cy that Drago was born, and 9784 CY when the Long Night begins, and 10087 when Dylan is pulled from the Black Hole.
They are considering a gerneration a hundred years? I thought they were only 20 to 25 yrs which would make Paul comiung from a time just before the Fall.
This epsiode just gives me a migrane.
I hope this doesn't offend anyone too much, but I can't wait for this to end so I can hear what was supposed to have been.

[ChicaFrom3]

psycaz, on Jan 21 2005, 10:52 PM, said:

I hope this doesn't offend anyone too much, but I can't wait for this to end so I can hear what was supposed to have been.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Well, you don't offend me. Engel's treatment of Nietzscheans offends me much more.

[katiegirl]

This episode sucked. I am very annoyed with the writing, the producing, the editing and the crap that these people were being paid to act it. It is HTLJ all over again. They were in a damn Hurry to get to their precious drunk fest and whore fest that they forgot they had a job to do.